§ How it works · Technicals

Three model kinds.
One verdict.

The model architecture, the routing math, the reference set, the signed receipt. The lab-report version of “scored against our reference set.”

Four sections
№ 001
The Ensemble

Three model kinds, one verdict.

Each listing is scored by an ensemble of three independent model kinds. They look at different things. When they agree, the verdict is automatic. When they disagree, the mid band, the listing escalates.

When the three models agree, the verdict is automatic. When they disagree, a person looks.

Model 01

Claude vision-language pass

A vision-language model reads the photos as a careful human would: stitch density on the lining seams, the spec of the zipper pull, the proportion of the leather grain to the trim. It writes a structured report — what looks right, what looks off, where the photos do not give it enough to decide.

Model 02

DINOv2 nearest-neighbor

A self-supervised vision model embeds the listing photos and finds the closest matches in our reference set of authenticated pieces. A high-confidence match means the geometry of the piece looks like the references; a soft match means the comparators were further away than we'd like.

Model 03

EXIF + metadata classifier

Photo metadata is a side channel. Capture device, time, color profile, and the way the file was re-encoded all cluster differently for first-party photos versus screenshots scraped off another listing. The classifier reads that cluster and contributes a small but independent signal.

Architectural detail in ADR-005 · Three-Kind Confidence Ensemble (DINOv2 + EXIF). The ensemble produces a confidence score and a routing decision, either auto-decide or escalate.

№ 002
Routing

Per-piece, not per-seller.

High agreement and high confidence resolve automatically. Low confidence routes to operator review the same way. The interesting case is the middle band, where one model is comfortable and another is not. Those listings get a human.

Operators see the same evidence the models saw. Their notes feed back into the reference set.

Per-piece

The routing input is the piece

The routing decision is made at the piece level. A seller with a clean track record does not skip review. A listing that looks like a known counterfeit does not get a free pass on a thin reputation argument. The model's input is the photos and the metadata, not the account.

Operator queue

What the reviewer sees

The reviewer opens the same photos, the same comparator set the model found, and the structured ensemble output. They mark up what they see, attach a verdict, and write a short note. The note is public on the verification report.

Thresholds

Tuned against the reference set

Routing thresholds are tuned against the reference set, not hand-coded. As the set grows, the auto-decide band tightens and the middle band shrinks. The trade-off is intentional: a slightly larger middle band today, fewer false auto-decides while the data accumulates.

Architectural detail in ADR-003 · Hybrid Routing.

№ 003
The reference set

The library every verdict is scored against.

The reference set is our library of authenticated pieces. Each one captured at the same six canonical angles, embedded with the same vision model, and labeled by the operators who reviewed it. It is the ground truth the ensemble compares against, and it is how a comparator gets named on a verification report.

Growth

Every operator label feeds back

When a reviewer attaches a verdict to a listing in the middle band, that listing — photos, comparator picks, operator notes — joins the reference set. Tomorrow's auto-decide band is built from yesterday's escalations.

Comparators

Public on the verification report

The closest references the ensemble found are surfaced on the listing's public verification report. We do not hide the comparator set; if you want to see why a piece was scored the way it was, the references are right there.

№ 004
The signed receipt

Cryptographic provenance, not a watermark.

Every completed verdict ships with a signed receipt. Not a decorative seal, an actual cryptographic record that travels with the piece.

Signature

Ed25519

The receipt is signed with our Ed25519 verification key on issue. The signing key is rotatable; old receipts continue to verify against the key that signed them.

Payload

Six canonical-angle image hashes

Inside the signed payload travel the hashes of the six canonical-angle photos that produced the verdict. Swap an angle photo later and the hash no longer matches the receipt.

Public

Deep-linkable, no auth

The receipt and its verification path live at a public URL. Anyone can fetch the signature, the public key, and the hashes; the receipt is a record, not a privileged surface.

§ Next

Same verdict. Lower prices. Days, not weeks.